Loki Visits the Avengers: Christmas Time
by randomfandomlover130
Summary: Thor invites Loki to stay with him and the Avengers for Christmas. What can possibly go wrong? Lots of brotherly bonding time with dashes of FrostIron here and there.
1. Chapter 1

**Loki Visits the Avengers: Christmas Time**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of them!**

**Author's Note: Here's the beginning of my "Christmas special". Read, review, and enjoy!**

When Tony was called down to the lobby of his tower, he was not sure what to expect, but he definitely did not anticipate the sight of the God of Mischief. On one of the sofas in the grand space sat the trickster himself, decked out in his famous suit and scarf combo instead of the usual Asgardian battle ready army. What confused Tony, however, was not the pleasant smile the god gave him in greeting, but rather the large dark green suitcase that stood next to the god.

"What are you doing here?" Tony demanded instantly as he stood in front of the Liesmith, arms crossed.

"Why, hello to you too Man of Iron," Loki said, his smile turning into a smirk. Tony just raised an eyebrow and waited. "Isn't the weather just lovely outside," Loki asked, tilting his head towards the glass doors.

"Just cut to the chase. What are you doing here?" Tony stated again.

"My, you really aren't one for pleasantries, are you now?" Loki said, chuckling "Isn't it obvious to why I am here? If not, then you really should be more observant of the weather."

"How the hell does the weather have anything to do with this?" Tony said with a glare, but he did look. Why in the world Loki said it was lovely outside was beyond him. It was a blizzard.

"Is Thor here?" Loki asked, gaining Tony's attention.

"Of course he is," Tony responded. Without another word, Loki got up, grabbed the suitcase, and headed towards the elevator.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?!" Tony asked, quickly going after him.

"Which floor is Thor's room?" Loki inquired without turning to look at Tony.

"Umm…" Tony didn't really know how to respond to that. They stopped in front of the metal doors, Loki pressing the button to go up.

"'Umm'? Your wit and flair continues to amaze me Stark. Shall I have to search every floor, or will you tell me which floor my oaf of a brother is on?" Loki asked, his smirk growing, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"53," Tony finally is able to stutter out. The elevator doors open and both Loki and Tony step inside. Loki presses the correct button, which instantly causes the doors to close. Loki then leans back against the wall, crossing his own arms. His head is tilted back slightly, his eyes closed.

"Okay, please tell me at least you're not planning to kill your brother because I and the team would have a slight problem with that," Tony asked, now getting quite tired of the trickster's elusiveness.

"Of course not. Why would I kill my idiot brother around this time?" Loki asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Time? What time? Did I miss something?" Tony questioned, now showing the confusion on his face.

"Today is the 23rd of December. Do the math, Stark, or are you too stupid to connect the dots yourself?" Loki asked, now giving him a look with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief.

Wait. December 23. Snowing outside. Suitcase. Oh…oh. Oh. Oh. Oh!

"So wait…are you telling me you're here to visit your brother for…oh great. This is just great," Tony groaned, shaking his head. The God of Mischief is here to spend Christmas with Thor, and, therefore, the Avengers here in Stark Tower. What can go wrong? Tony instantly wished he could disappear right then and there.

* * *

When the elevator opened, the team were only expecting Tony to appear from who knows where. To say they were surprised to see Loki step out along with Tony was an understatement. Thor, however, with a huge smile glued to his face, jumped up from his position on the couch and, in three quick strides, was soon in front of his little brother, engulfing him in a huge hug that would have crushed any normal human being. But, Loki was definitely nowhere near normal. Or human. Or possibly not even a being. Who could possibly say?

"Brother! I am so glad to see you have accepted my invitation!" Thor boomed loudly.

"Wait…this was your idea? Thor, what were you thinking?! He's our enemy for goodness sakes!" Tony asked, coming from behind.

"Umm…Thor, I have to agree with Tony here," Natasha said from her arm chair.

"Yeah, so tell your brother Merry Christmas and to get lost," Tony said, crossing his arms, with a hint of triumph.

"Friends," Thor said, letting go of Loki and wrapping an arm around the slender god, "this is my first Christmas as well as Loki's. I thought it was only most appropriate to invite my brother here to join us in our festivities. After all, Christmas is about family and friendship, is it not?" The other Avengers stared for several moments.

"Sure, he can stay, as long as he promises us to not kill us in our sleep," Steve said.

"Steve?! What are…what…why would you agree to this?" Tony asked baffled, his stance deflating.

"Thor's right. Christmas is about family, and Thor is pretty much the only one here with family. I don't really want to take that away from him," Steve responded with a shrug.

"Well, it's not like he's staying here forever," Bruce jumped in, causing Tony to glare at his science buddy.

"Fine, you have my vote," Natasha said, "Clint?"

"I'm fine with it," Clint said.

"What?! Hello, bird brain, he enslaved your mind? Did you forget about that?" Tony asked with shock.

"It actually wasn't that bad. Besides, I didn't actually kill anyone. I just wounded them," Clint replied, "Plus, I did enjoy our little conversations here and there." At this, Loki stepped away from Thor and went to sit next to Clint (which was originally Thor's spot), wrapping his arm around the hero's shoulder. He gave Tony his most charming and disarming smile.

"Well, five against one. Sorry Stark, but it seems like I shall be staying for a bit," Loki said. Tony felt like he was on the verge of a stroke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Loki Visits the Avengers: Christmas Time**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of them!**

**Author's Note: Yay, another chapter! Read, review, and enjoy!**

Tony stomped down the hallway with Loki right behind him. Meanwhile, Thor lugged his little brother's suitcase which…for some reason seemed a bit too heavy for the Thunder god's liking. "Brother, what is in this?" Thor panted, now dragging the bag along the floor.

"Only the necessities. What, is that too much weight for the great Thor?" Loki called behind him, suddenly stopping in his tracks, "If it is too much for you, I could carry it instead." Loki then held out his hand expectantly.

"No, no…just…exactly what are the necessities?" Thor asked a bit exasperated, stopping to gain his breath.

"Just the usual. Clothes, books, Christmas gifts, my entire bedroom, that is all," Loki explained with a face of seriousness although Thor could almost hear the laughter in the trickster's voice.

"Woah, wait, back up," Tony said, now walking backwards until he was face to face with the God of Lies, "did you just say your room was in that bag?"

"Of course it is. Where else would I sleep?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But..wha…How?" Tony stuttered in bewilderment.

"I'm a God, Stark. And so, what was that Midgardian phrase? Oh yes," Loki said, stepping forward to close the gap between him and the billionaire, who started to look very nervous. Loki leaned forward slightly so his mouth was right next to Tony's ear, and then whispered so very quietly, "I do what I want". Loki then stepped back and observed the man before him, which caused him to burst out laughing. Tony Stark, of all people, was beat red. Tony glared at the god. He then angrily stomped pass the god and approached the door at the end of the hallway. He forced the door open with a resounding bang.

"Here! Do whatever the hell you want, I don't care, but I swear to god if the room is not back to normal by the end of your visit, then I will through _you _out of a window and see how _you _like it!" Tony yelled. He stormed off, passing Loki and Thor, who was still out of breath.

"My, that mortal sure is easy to annoy and anger," Loki said, tilting his head slightly, "I like it."

"Please do not get any ideas, brother. Come, let us get you settled in," Thor said, lifting the suitcase up over his shoulder. The sight of the God of Thunder having a hard time carrying a suitcase of all things made Loki crack a smile.

"Of course, Thor, I wouldn't want to step over any boundaries during this festive time, now would I?" Loki responded, giving Thor his best angelic look. This, in turn, caused Thor to smile. It was good to have his mischievous little brother back.

* * *

Tony, later that day, walked into the kitchen to be greeted with…well, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Maybe he was drunk? He didn't remember drinking anything alcoholic, but… Wait, was he really witnessing Loki, the villainous God of Mischief and Chaos, wearing a green apron with a reindeer on it and beating something with an electron mixer in a bowl in _his _kitchen. And…was that really Thor next to him wearing a red apron decorated with embroidered Christmas lights, trying to pour a white powder into Loki's bowl, but failing and really just causing the dry mixture to go everywhere, and by everywhere meaning mostly on Thor himself. Yes, he had to be drunk. Before Tony could back out, however, Thor had looked his way and noticed.

"Friend Tony!" he said in his loud voice with a huge smile, "please, come join us! We are currently in the middle of the Midgardian tradition of baking cookies."

"Er…" was all that Tony could say. He didn't know whether to laugh and grab his phone to record this, or to run away screaming. This really was not a situation he liked.

"Yes, Stark. We are almost finished mixing the wet and dry ingredients, but we need someone to open the bags of chocolate chips. Would you do so?" Loki asked with a smile, tilting his head. Why, oh why, did that have to make him look so embarrassingly attractive?

"Fine," Tony grumbled, walking over to the counter where the gods stood before. The countertop was a mess. Everywhere he looked there was either flour, sugar, or splatters of egg and…was that eggshell? "Did you really have to make a mess of my kitchen," Tony asked irritatingly.

"Blame Thor. He wouldn't listen to me," Loki sniffed.

"Now, brother, we are both at fault here," Thor chided.

"Oh really? Says the one who insisted on cracking the eggs open with Mjolnir," Loki shot back.

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone!" Thor whined.

"You should know better than to trust the God of Lies," Loki said with a grin.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Both of you are children," Tony asked, now annoyed beyond belief. All he wanted was some coffee before he got back to work on his latest project. He looked around and finally found the stupid bags of chocolate chips, which were on the only clean area of the counter. There was a huge back and a small bag. Quickly, Tony grabbed and opened the two of them. He turned to look at the gods, who were now finished with adding the dry stuff. Loki gave the bowl a look of satisfaction before looking towards Tony. Seeing that both bags were opened, Loki grabbed them and dumped all of their contents into the bowl.

"Wooden spoon?" Loki asked, stretching his hand out towards Thor, who obliged and gave Loki the required tool.

"Isn't that too much?" Tony found himself inquiring.

"Of course not. If anything, it might be a bit less than to what I am use to baking," Loki said, stirring the chips into the bowl.

"This isn't your first time baking?" Tony asked, astounded by this.

"My brother is a terrific cook and a fantastic baker," Thor boasted proudly, patting Loki on the back. Loki allowed himself a slight smile at the compliment. Soon enough, everything was mixed, and the first batch was in the oven, with the timer set at eleven minutes. Thor worked to clean up the mess while Loki grabbed a glass water and sat himself at the kitchen table, lounging back in the chair with his legs crossed. Loki closed his eyes and took a sip, allowing himself to relax. Tony, for a moment, just stood there and stared at the god, silently gawking at…

"Friend Tony, have you finished with the shopping for gifts?" Thor suddenly asked, shaking Tony from his thoughts.

"What?" Tony asked.

"You know, the buying of the Christmas gifts?" Thor asked conversationally.

"Yes, I have. I just need to wrap them, but since, well you know what my wrapping skills are like Point Break, I will have to go out and get them wrap," Tony said with a shrug.

"That should be simple enough," Loki said, opening his eyes to look at Tony, "especially with the blizzard currently going on outside, all the roads and stores being closed, and, even if it all clears up, you would be competing against fifty million other mortals. Piece of cake." Shoot. Why did Loki have to be right?


	3. Chapter 3

**Loki Visits the Avengers: Christmas Time**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of them!**

**Author's Note: I won't be home for Christmas tomorrow, so I'll try to finish up the next chapter. Remember to read, review, and enjoy!**

After the rest of that day (which mainly contained the two gods arguing over which Christmas special to watch on the television) and that evening, and finally also after staring out of the window to see swarms of people out there and realizing it was Christmas Eve, Tony knew what he had to do. He couldn't believe it had all come to this. Maybe in the way future, he would look back at this and laugh, but right now, at this moment, he really wished for death. 'This had to be the most embarrassing thing ever,' was the only thought repeating in his head as he watched Loki place a bow on Pepper's gift.

"In all honesty, Stark, you were probably better off wrapping this present yourself. Surely, the horrible presentation of the gift would distract her from seeing how horrible the _gift _itself is," Loki said with a smirk, tossing the gift at Tony, who managed to catch it without ruining the paper. Thank god (the one that was not Loki).

"It's not a bad gift!" Tony remarked bitterly, glaring at the god.

"No, an agenda to be used to keep track of _your _schedule, not hers, but _your _schedule, is a very thoughtful gift. You definitely must have taken her interests into consideration. It truly is from the heart. And what is this supposed to be?" Loki asked as he grabbed the next needed-to-be-wrapped gift. "Pop Tarts? Really?" Loki sarcastically asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"They are not just Pop Tarts! They are limited edition Sugar Cookie Pop Tarts," Tony scoffed as he place the To and From label on Pepper's gift, which was then immediately placed onto the top of the small pile of gifts.

"Like that improves things much. For my idiot brother, surely? I do not understand how he or you mortals can stand the retched artificial taste," Loki said sourly as he started to wrap the gift in red wrapping paper.

"You've tried Pop Tarts before?" Tony asked, taken back.

"Of course I have. Why wouldn't I? I've tried many different kinds of Midgardian food. After all, if I am to conquer your world, I have to have an understanding of your culture, including food," Loki said, slightly distracted from the wrapping.

"So…what do you like?" Tony inquired, now curious.

"I like many things. Please clarify," Loki said, placing the last piece of tape on Thor's gift.

"You know what I mean," Tony said with a sigh. It wasn't really worth getting annoyed with the God of Mischief.

"What Midgardian food do I favor? Hmm…interesting question. I do not know although I do enjoy the flavors and textures of what is called Chinese food. At the same time, I enjoy the confections you call chocolate, especially the truffles," Loki finally replied, now placing a gold bow on top of Thor's gift. "There, I do believe that is all of the gifts," he said, handing the small package to Tony, who slapped the label on, happy that this was over.

"Do you need help taking all of this to the tree?" Loki asked as Tony started to pick up the gifts.

"If you want," Tony said with a shrug.

"Perfect. Although, could we stop at my room first, so I can pick up my gifts to all of you?" Loki asked with his arms now full of colorfully wrapped objects.

"Sure," Tony said, taking the rest of the gifts. They both left the kitchen area and walked down the hall. They stopped right in front of Loki's room, where Loki placed the gifts on the floor and stepped inside in a way where Tony couldn't see inside, then shutting the door. After about five minutes, Loki slid through the door, closed it, and picked up the gifts.

"Alright, let us go," Loki said.

"Wait, where are the gifts?" Tony asked in surprise.

"I'm a god Stark. Do I have to go over this with you again? You must be going deaf," Loki said, shaking his head in slight annoyance.

"Don't give me that! Just because you're a god doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! Also, maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm not from Asgard, and some of these things are new to me," Tony bit out angrily.

Loki gave him a look before saying, "I have an inter-dimensional pocket, meaning I can essentially put whatever I want into my pocket because of its hugeness."

"So…you could put these gifts in there?" Tony asked, holding out the gifts with slight hope.

"I could, but I don't feel like it," Loki remarked, turning from Tony and swiftly walking away.

"Jerk," Tony muttered as he went after the god.

* * *

When the two entered the living room with the Christmas tree in the corner, they were immediately greeted by the rest of the Avengers. "Friend Tony! Brother! Come and join us, for Son of Rogers is about to read us a traditional Midgardian Christmas tale," Thor called happily, beckoning the two over. Tony first went over to the tree and dumped the presents in his arm there before going over to one of the couches and plopping down next to Bruce.

"Don't you organize these gifts in any shape or form?" Loki asked, baffled by the messiness under the Christmas tree. It looked like a miniature tornado came through!

"Who cares?" Clint asked.

"I care. You're supposed to be Earth's mightiest heroes, yet none of you can take the time to organize these gifts by to whom they are for. Typical," Loki exclaimed. He collapsed to his knees and started to sort the gifts out.

"Right…" Tony said, "So, Steve, what kid's story are you reading us?"

"Well, since this is both Thor's and Loki's first Christmas, I figured it is a must that we read _Twas the Night Before Christmas," _Steve said, holding up said children's book.

"Do we all have to sit through this?" Natasha asked.

"Yes," the team almost said unanimously. Natasha crossed her arms and sulked a little.

"Alright," Steve said, clearing his voice, "_Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…"_

"Do we have stockings?" Thor inquired.

"Yes, we made you one. Those are stockings," Bruce said, pointing at the wall which was, sure enough, lined up with stockings. Bruce, meanwhile, wanted Steve to hurry up and continue the story although he wasn't certain whether he wanted to get over with it or if he really wanted to listen.

"Does Loki have one?" Thor asked, looking over at his brother.

"Yes, I do," Loki said, not looking up at the gifts, his face slightly scrunched up in concentration.

"Since when did you have a stocking?" Tony asked.

"Since I hung mine up this morning along with all of yours. Your observational skills baffle me Stark," Loki replied, a small smirk forming on his lips. Sure enough, at the end of all the red stockings (each with their names written on them with green fabric paint) was a green stocking with the name Loki embroidered in gold.

"Show off," Clint murmured.

"Okay, um, _The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…"_

"Who is this St. Nicholas?" Thor inquired, almost sounding like a small child.

"He's the fat elf dressed in red that delivers gifts to good children and coal to bad children," Loki said before anyone else could answer, "You really do not do your research Thor, do you? Well, Rogers, what are you waiting for? Carry on!"

"What? Oh right…_The children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads…" _Thankfully, there was no further interruption until, "_As I drew in my head, and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound…"_

"How does St. Nicholas visit every single house in one night with a sled and a couple of reindeer?" Loki asked. Finished with the sorting of the gifts, as well as done with putting his out, he sat cross legged and looking at the group, head tilted. "And how is he able to fit through a chimney?"

"Do we need a chimney? Do we have one?" Thor asked worriedly.

"The presence of a chimney doesn't matter if he cannot fit through it," Loki retorted.

"Well, how do you take control of peoples' minds, create a vortex for an alien army, and survive after getting beaten up by the Hulk? It's just a story, so do us all a favor and shut up! No one here cares!" Tony snapped, annoyed at Loki's questions, comments, answers, and the fact that he's even here in the first place. At that moment, Tony watched as Loki's eyes slowly glazed over. Tony stiffed, realizing he might have stepped over a boundary.

After a second of silence, Loki quietly said, "Point taken". Then, he got up and left the room before anyone else could say another word. The room remained silent for who knows how long. Finally, Steve continued and finished the story, the merriment of it now gone. They all soon separated, going to their rooms, lab, or the training center, leaving Tony left alone. Not sure as what to do, Tony got up and allowed his feet to take him where ever. Only…Now he stood in front of the God of Mischief's door. Sighing, Tony knocked.

"Loki? Loks, yoo-hoo, you in there?" Tony called through the door. No answer. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I really didn't mean it, honest, I was just irritated the holidays always get me worked up. Come on, just open up."

The door finally cracked open slightly, revealing partially the face of trickster. "Don't apologize if you do not mean them. I know you loathe me, as you should, so do yourself a favor and save your breath," Loki whispered so quietly that Tony had to strain his ears to here. Then, the door closed and that was that. Did Tony actually _offend _the great God of Mischief, Chaos, and Lies?

Tony sunk down on the ground, putting his head into his arms, not knowing what to do. Then, finally, an idea popped up into his genius brain of his. Looking at his watch, he saw it was only about three o'clock. There was still plenty of time to do some last minute shopping. Tony then ran to look for his friends, now excited. He had a plan.


	4. Chapter 4

**Loki Visits the Avengers: Christmas Time**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of them!**

**Author's Note: Here's the final chapter of this one. The story will continue, however, in Loki Visits the Avengers: New Years. Read, review, and enjoy!**

Tony woke up the next morning, tired from the lack of sleep. The first phase of 'Operation: Apologize to Loki and Show That He Is Liked by the Avengers' was finished two hours after midnight. They would have been finished earlier if Thor had just gone to bed when they asked him to, so they could pull out all the gifts "From Santa". Thor, however, being Thor, didn't listen and stayed up until all the other Avengers faked went to bed. And, even then, he insisted on putting out milk and cookies before going to sleep. Thank god (the one that wasn't Loki of course!) today was Christmas! After this, Loki will soon be gone and out of their hair.

Tony quickly got out of bed, had a cold shower, dressed, and lazily brushed his hair and teeth in a matter of minutes. Glancing at the alarm clock, he saw it was five o'clock. However, he wanted to go check out his stocking before anyone else got up. The one in charge of the stockings this year was Bruce, so, naturally, he was excited to see what favors his Science buddy got him. Tony quietly crept out of his room and made his way down the hallway, being careful as not to disturb anyone. Finally, he walked into the living room to see…

Loki was sitting on the ground, his knees tucked underneath his chin, arms wrapped tightly around his legs. He was staring in awe at the tree, the twinkling lights being on. Tony tried to back away without being noticed, but as soon as he moved, Loki's gaze was upon him. Tony couldn't make out the trickster god's expression. Not knowing what to do, Tony decided to walk over to the god and plop down right next to him. He wasn't sure if this was the brightest of ideas, but it was worth a shot. Loki stared for a moment before looking back up at the tree.

"You got me gifts. All of you," he said quietly, gesturing at the newly made pile next to Thor's, "Why?"

"Why not?" Tony asked with a shrug.

"I thought only good people get gifts," Loki whispered, the words almost being too quiet to hear.

Tony thought about this for a second before saying, "A bad deed doesn't make you a bad person. I mean, I've done some really messed up things in the past, but every day I regret it."

For a moment there was just plain silence, the light dancing across the room. The words "I regret" finally escaped Loki's mouth. Tony turned to observe the god, and this time to really take in everything. Loki looked so young at this moment, so vulnerable. Tony knew Loki was showing him a part of himself that he wouldn't even show to his own brother, and so, for the moment, Tony allowed himself to revel and take it all in. The colorful lights danced upon Loki's pale skin, making him look…beautiful. The god really was beautiful. Before Tony could stop himself, he wrapped an arm around the younger god's shoulders. Loki allowed himself the lean his head against Tony's shoulder, shocking the philanthropist. Tony opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it and, instead, made himself more comfortable and stared up at the Christmas tree.

* * *

Tony woke with a start, not exactly knowing when he had fallen asleep. He was laying flat on the ground now, his back slightly stiff from the hard floor, his right arm for some reason numb. Tony turned his head towards Loki and discovered the reason for this. Loki slept next to him, using Tony's arm as a pillow. The god had nestled into him during the short period of time. Tony, not wanting to disturb the trickster, slowly lifted himself up, being careful as to not just drop Loki's head on the ground. When Tony was free of the god's grasp, Tony lifted the god off the ground and laid him out onto a nearby couch. He then turned back and decided to go back to his previous mission: look in his stocking.

Before Tony could, however, his plans were thwarted with Bruce himself entering the room…Was it him or did Bruce have a smug smile…oh no. "So, how did you sleep? From what I saw, you slept pretty well," Bruce said, trying hard to conceal his laughter.

"If you tell anyone…" Tony hissed, jabbing the man in the chest with a finger.

"Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. I just think it makes sense is all," Bruce said with a warm smile. Tony started to respond, only to have Steve, followed by an excited Thor and two unenthusiastic assassins, enter.

After waking up Loki, much to his displeasure, the Avengers set out opening their gifts. First were the stockings, which, to everyone's delight, were filled to the brim with candy. Even Loki had some good stuff in them, including some chocolate 'coal', which even made him smile a bit. They then went down to business at opening the actual gifts, deciding to go one at a time. "You first Clint," Steve said. Clint, tiredly, opened his first gift which turned out to be…

"Really, Tony?" Clint asked annoyed, holding up a toy bow with matching arrows, which had suction cups at the end. Both Tony and Loki suppressed their giggles as the archer muttered in displeasure. Besides that, he received a _real _bow and arrows, an Asgardian hunting knife (from Loki of course), his favorite flavor of salt water taffy (much to everyone's disgust), a sweater, some socks, and a new IPad (he sort of dropped his from one of his perches).

Natasha, meanwhile, received a couple of guns, Asgardian throwing knives (also from Loki), a pink shirt with sequins (which she quickly threw across the room, then glared at Tony with a look that said 'I'm going to kill you'), a new pair of boots, and a gift card to Starbucks.

Steve received polish for his shield, an IPhone, a manual on how to _use _an IPhone (he stared at it blankly for a while before putting it down and deciding to ignore it, much to Tony's amusement), a sweater, an Asgardian shield (cough cough Loki cough), and also socks. Yay.

Bruce happily accepted his new Chemistry set, extra test tubes, books, a jar of something weird that must have been from Loki and so he would have to ask about it later, a sweater, socks, and stretchy purple shorts for the Hulk.

Thor was delighted to find Pop Tarts, a sweater, socks, an IPhone, a book about Midgardian traditions, and... "Brother?" Thor questioned as he stared at the precious gift in his hands. Before him was a framed picture of he, his brother, Odin, and Frigga, all standing before the Bifrost, smiling. Both Thor and Loki in the picture were boys, Thor grinning proudly while Loki smiled mischievously. "How…"

"I have my ways, brother," Loki said, smiling. Thor, noticing Loki used the word 'brother' leaned over the Loki and gave him a great big hug. The rest of the group listened as they exchanged a quick conversation in their native tongue before pulling away.

Tony quickly ripped open his gifts to find a book about manners, a big red button that said 'Off' ("Ha ha, very funny guys"), some bottles of fine alcohol, bags of coffee, and a strange hunk of metal that immediately piqued Tony's interest. "Thanks, Loks," Tony said, giving him a grin. Loki raised his eyebrow at the new nickname, but decided not to comment.

Finally, it was Loki's turn to open his gifts. One by one he opened them, and with each he was astounded by how generous they were. Boxes of expensive chocolate truffles, books about the different cultures of Midgard, popular Midgardian fictional books ("I've been meaning to buy this one," Loki said, holding up _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), _old spell books from Asgard he hadn't been able to check out before, an IPhone (with manual of course and plan paid by Tony of course), and a shirt that said 'I Do What I Want'. Loki looked around at them all and, with a big smiled, said, "Thank you, all of you, so very much. This is really too much." The team offered him back their smiles. 'Operation: Apologize to Loki and Show That He Is Liked by the Avengers' was a success. This definitely warmed all of the Avengers' hearts.

* * *

The rest of the day was very peaceful, relaxing, and enjoyable. Pepper came over for a short visit, opening her gifts ("Really Tony, an agenda? You didn't even try did you?") and leaving for her new boyfriend's house, AKA Phil Coulson. They all sung Christmas carols, watched Christmas specials (including the new Doctor Who episode), and ate up all the chocolate chip cookies. When dinner finally came, they all tucked in to a delicious feast of Chinese food, much to the God of Mischief's pleasure. Within minutes, all the dumplings mysteriously disappeared, but the team decided to not comment on that. Afterward, they stuffed themselves with cakes before deciding to relax in the living room. "This really is the best Christmas ever," Tony said, lounging back on the couch, one hand with a glass of eggnog with rum, the other hand trying to not wrap itself around Loki's shoulders again.

"What are your plans after this Loki?" Steve suddenly asked. The team looked up at Loki expectantly.

The god blushed slightly before saying, "If it's alright with all of you, would…would it be okay for me to stay for New Years?"

"Of course," Thor boomed happily.

"Sure," both assassins said at the same time.

"You bet," Steve said with a smile.

"You have to," Bruce said, grinning.

Tony gave in and wrapped his arm around Loki's shoulders, pressed him against his person, grinned and said, "Wouldn't be the same without you."

End of the Christmas Time Visit.


End file.
